Lancaster Colony Q4 Profit Rises, But Results Miss View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Lancaster Colony Corp. (LANC), a maker of specialty food products, on Tuesday reported net income for the fourth quarter of $33.0 million or $1.20 per share, up slightly from $32.4 million or $1.18 per share last year.

Consolidated net sales for the quarter increased 5.0 percent to a $323.7 million from $308.2 million last year. Excluding net sales attributed to Bantam Bagels and Omni Baking Company, both of which were acquired during the fiscal second quarter, consolidated net sales increased 1.3 percent.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.29 per share for the quarter on revenues of $331.56 million. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2020, Lancaster Corp. said that following a year in which overall commodity costs were generally flat, it anticipates an uptick in commodity costs for the year.

However, the company expects pricing initiatives, in addition to ongoing savings from its lean six sigma program and other cost-out projects planned by its supply chain team, will help to offset these increased costs.